A poisonous cloud hangs over Berlin after a chemical plant fire, with firefighters warning deadly hydrogen cyanide could develop.
Firefighters said sulfuric acid and copper cyanide were stored at the plant and the chemicals ignited, which could create hydrogen cyanide.
People were warned to close all windows, stay indoors and turn off ventilation units after the fire hit the company that makes weapons supplied to Ukraine.
The state of Berlin issued an official danger warning and urged people to stay away from the district, as the cloud of smoke already extends over almost the entire western area of the city.
The fire took place at Diehl Metal Applications in the Berlin district of Lichterfelde, a sister company of the Diehl Defense group, manufacturer of the deadly IRIS-T missiles.
A poisonous cloud hangs over Berlin after a chemical plant fire, with firefighters warning deadly hydrogen cyanide could develop.
People have been warned to close all windows, stay indoors and turn off ventilation units after the fire hit the company that makes weapons supplied to Ukraine.
The fire occurred at Diehl Metal Applications in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district, a sister company of the Diehl Defense Group, manufacturer of the deadly IRIS-T, which also has its headquarters on the same street.
In the burning building, the company would operate its own electroplating system to refine the building’s metal surfaces.
Diehl Defense has its headquarters on the same street as the burning building. Diehl Metal Applications operates its own electroplating system to refine the metal surfaces of the burning building.
“The building is now completely burned on four floors. Part of the building has already collapsed,” Adrian Wenzel, spokesman for the Berlin fire brigade and present at the scene of the fire, told the German newspaper Bild.
He added: “We are only trying to put out the fire from the outside. The fire can no longer be controlled from the inside.
Local newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported that several detonations were heard at the scene.
There are currently 190 firefighters on site, wearing protective suits.
Students and teachers from nearby schools were sent home as a precaution and several stores in the area also closed their doors.
No information is currently available on the cause of the fire, but the fire department spokesperson said no injuries were reported.
The operation to bring the fire under control is expected to last until late at night, with firefighters struggling to bring it under control since it broke out around 10:30 a.m. local time. Parts of the building are said to have collapsed.
dailymail us
